


The Autumn Leaves of Red and Gold

by vanillafluffy



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Embarrassment, F/M, Flowers, Other, Renaissance Faires, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 15:29:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19254001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/pseuds/vanillafluffy
Summary: For the prompt, "a flower crown". Where do you usually see flower crowns? Look no farther than your local Renaissance festival! Venom thinks Eddie needs something pretty to wear.





	The Autumn Leaves of Red and Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cozy_coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cozy_coffee/gifts).



> Title from a song by Frank Sinatra.

The Renaissance Fair has taken over Golden Gate Park. As far as the eye can see are pavilions selling baubles to visitors, presided over by men and women in ersatz period clothing. Lords and ladies stroll by in fancy brocade and velvet. Peasant wenches in long skirts carry baskets in lieu of purses, knaves in tunics and leggings look like members of a rag-bag chorus line. A harlequinned jester strolls past on stilts. Someone, somewhere is playing the theme from “Star Wars” on a bagpipe. 

They’ve watched a joust. Two fools in tin cans on horse-back trying to knock each other off…what a ridiculous way to make a living! Venom eyes the beasts and wants to know if horses are edible. “Absolutely not!” Eddie answers firmly. It’s bad enough when his symbiote eats people. He doesn’t even want to think about how difficult it would be to digest a draft horse.

“Can we have another turkey leg?” Venom wheedles. He’d devoured the first two, bones and all.

“Maybe later. Let’s just walk around for a little while.”

There’s a lot to see at the various stalls--everything from jewelry and clothing to artwork to a booth fragrant with perfume and incense.

“You need one of those,” Venom tells him when they get to the far end of the park where a tent is set up offering floral wreaths.

“Me? Are you out of your mind?” Eddie tries to indulge the symbiote as much as he can--it makes living with him easier--but he draws the line at walking around with a crown of pansies on his head. In this town, people would definitely get the wrong idea!

Venom doesn’t give up. He hijacks Eddie’s central nervous system and marches him over to the booth. It’s set slightly away from the others. The young woman sitting with a basket of silk flowers and floral tape gives him a hopeful smile as they walk up. “Good day to you, good sir!” she greets him. “If thou needest any assistance, I shall be most glad to help.”

Eddie wants to say, “Just looking”--but from her wide-eyed eagerness, she hasn’t had a lot of customers--and if there’s anything he’s a sucker for, it’s a hard-luck story. She’s not wearing a fancy gown like so many of the merchants. It’s plain cotton and fits her thin frame loosely.

The trouble is, most of these things are not just flowery AF, they’ve been gilded with glitter and dewdrops of rhinestones. They’re freaking hideous. They make that hypothetical crown of pansies look downright tasteful.

“This one!” Venom extrudes a tentacle and snakes one of the wreaths from its peg. Something lands on Eddie’s head. 

Holding his breath, Eddie steps over to the mirror fastened to one of the uprights. Okay, it could be worse, is his conclusion.

Instead of roses and ivy, which seems to be the predominating motif, one big sunflower is flanked by a couple smaller orange and yellow blooms. There’s no greenery; the wreath is embellished with autumn leaves in fiery colors and garnished with a cluster of acorns. Like the others, there are sparks of glitter, but on the whole, it’s probably the most restrained one here.

“You look beautiful, Eddie!”

Fine. It’ll make the symbiote happy and this gal needs the money. He pulls out his wallet. As the vendor accepts the cash, she asks, “Art thou a magician, good sir?” which means she saw the wreath go from the side of the booth to his head without benefit of his hands. Time to make a hasty retreat.

“No, my lady, it’s you who are the magician. You just made thirty dollars disappear from my wallet. Keep the change.” It’s only two bucks, and she needs it more than he does.

“Thank you, kind sir!”

He waves, striding back toward the larger cluster of tents. Maybe he’ll grab a couple more turkey legs and call it a day.

“Eddie?!”

He stops in his tracks at the familiar voice. There’s Anne. And Dan. She’s gotten into the spirit with a long skirt and peasant top. She has a wreath, too, a tasteful one with dainty white lilies crowning her flowing hair, ribbons fluttering in the breeze. Dan is wearing jeans topped with a patchwork vest, bare-headed. Maybe not period authentic, but festive. Great, here he is looking like a refugee from My Little Pony. Eddie winces.

“Well, look at you!” Anne says, scrutinizing his colorful accessory. “I never realized you were an autumn before!”

“Ah, the poor kid hadn’t sold anything all day, I felt bad for her,” Eddie shrugs, trying to pretend he isn’t humiliated down to his boot-soles at being caught in the gaudy headdress.

“Typical Eddie,” she teases him. “Here, your hair is standing straight up, it makes you look like you have horns.”

He shivers as she removes the autumn foliage, smooths his hair to her satisfaction and settles it back in place. How many times has she run her fingers through his hair? But no kisses this time, no cuddles, no walking hand-in-hand making snarky comments about the pseudo-Medievalists….

“I couldn’t pull that off,” Dan interjects, sounding regretful. “It looks good on you.”

“Don’t worry,” Anne smiles at her sweetheart. “We’re going to find you a velvet hat with a big feather! I’m sure they have them here somewhere.”

Dan smiles unconvincingly. 

“Nice seeing you, Eddie,” she says as they move away. Dan glances back with a rueful look.

It’s nice to know he isn’t the only one here whose Significant Other is going to have them walking around in questionable headgear.

“It’s okay, Eddie,” Venom consoles him. “I still think you’re beautiful.”

 

…


End file.
